Main Figure In Corruption Probe Jailed

September 05, 1985|By Maurice Possley and William B. Crawford Jr.

Victor Albanese, a central figure in a federal investigation of corruption in Chicago, has been ordered jailed for contempt of court after refusing to testify before a federal grand jury, sources said Wednesday.

An official at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, 171 W. Van Buren St., said Albanese, 49, was in custody there.

Albanese was jailed after he asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, though he had been granted immunity from prosecution by the Justice Department.

Sources said the attempt to compel Albanese`s testimony before the grand jury came as the investigation had begun to focus on virtually all of the 50 restaurant inspectors employed in the city`s Department of Consumer Services. A source close to one of the inspectors under investigation, who asked for anonymity, said the investigation is ``expansive, widespread.``

The grand jury is trying to learn whether the city inspectors obtained their jobs through political sponsorship and if they were forced to pay money for the sponsorship, the source said.

The grand jury also is exploring whether cash bribes were paid in return for favorable dispositions before a circuit judge and if bribes were paid to inspectors in return for overlooking city code violations found in

restaurants, the source said.

Last February federal prosecutors linked Albanese to a federal investigation of a judge, an alderman, several police officers and dozens of city employees in at least three city departments.

After that disclosure, Circuit Judge Frank Salerno, who since 1982 had presided over License Court, where violations of Chicago licensing laws are heard, asked for and was granted reassignment amid reports that his court was under scrutiny.

Albanese, an investigator for a city council committee, was sentenced to eight years in prison last Feb. 7 after pleading guilty to extorting $5,000 from the owner of a North Side tavern who was seeking a liquor license. U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur ordered Albanese jailed immediately, declaring him a danger to the community.

George Murtaugh, Albanese`s lawyer, said at the time that the government had sought immediate imprisonment to pressure his client into cooperating with the investigation.

Murtaugh refused comment Wednesday on the contempt citation. It was reported last spring that Albanese, who was accused of being a bagman, had been recommended for his job as a $900-a-month investigator for the Chicago City Council Finance Committee by 1st Ward Democratic Committeeman John D`Arco.

Less than a week after Albanese was imprisoned, subpoenas were served on the city License and Liquor Control Commission and the Department of Consumer Services.

Other departments linked at that time to the investigation by federal prosecutors were the Departments of Inspectional Services and Zoning.

Last week Albanese was returned to Chicago from a federal prison in Rochester, Minn., and taken before the grand jury, according to sources.

After Albanese was granted immunity from prosecution and had refused to testify before the grand jury, Acting Chief U.S. District Judge John Grady held him in contempt of court and ordered him jailed.

Under federal court guidelines, an individual found in contempt of court must remain in jail for the life of the grand jury or until he decides to testify before the grand jury.

In the case of Albanese, the grand jury will be sitting for 14 more months.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Duffy, who is conducting the investigation with Assistant U.S. Atty. Ira Raphaelson, declined to comment.